The regions outpace London

Investment in the UK commercial property sector during the third quarter of 2015 reached £12.8bn, according to our latest UK Investment Transactions Report (UKIT).

Although this represents a 23% decline on the previous quarter – and is the third successive quarter in which volumes have fallen – investment for 2015 as a whole may just eclipse the record of £61.7bn set last year. Investment for the year to date currently stands at £48.5bn.

investment volume in the UK regions during Q3 exceeded that in London for the first time in 12 months. This helps to explain the reduction in the average lot size from £35m to £25m, and the fact that total transaction volume fell despite an 8% quarter-on-quarter rise in the number of deals.

UK institutions were net dis-investors in commercial property for the first time in Q3 since mid-2012, with a number of key institutions appearing to rebalance their portfolios by cashing in within London whilst continuing to invest outside of the capital.

transaction yields have fallen slightly from 5.69% to 5.55% in the past quarter, to stand at their lowest level since the end of 2007.